Colonel White
Colonel White is the code name adopted by Charles Gray, the Supreme Commander-In-Chief, or CINCSPEC, of the Spectrum Organisation and the Commanding Officer of its primary command headquarters, the flying aircraft carrier called Cloudbase. A widower with no children and a veteran of duty in the British and World Navies, he also served as Director of the Universal Secret Service's London headquarters. Known background The following information is specific to the original programme. Charlie Gray of the British Navy and the World Navy A native of London, Charlie Gray (as he was then known) grew up with a love of the sea. After earning degrees in computers, navigation, and technology from Norwich University, he enlisted in the British Navy--at a time when Great Britain was tyrannised by an evil military dictatorship. Throwing his support to the rebels who fought for freedom, Charles (as he had come to be known by this time) saw his efforts rewarded when the military dictatorship was overthrown thanks to him and many other courageous personnel. Transferring to the World Navy, he rose through the ranks to become a very young fleet admiral--then retired unexpectedly to join the Universal Secret Service. Charles Gray, Secret Service London The London headquarters of the Universal Secret Service was honeycombed with moles and double agents at the approximate time when Gray took it over. But in a very short time, he managed to clean them out successfully. During this time, Karen Wainwright (who later became the Symphony Angel of the Spectrum Organisation) became one of his agents. Colonel White, Spectrum Gray had been offered the office of Supreme Director of the Universal Secret Service, but he rejected it in order to accept another post of much greater import: founding Supreme Commander-In-Chief (CINCSPEC) of the new Spectrum Organisation, in which post he adopted the code name of Colonel White. Charles Gray the man According to the back story that Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson wrote for him, Charles Gray is a widower whose wife died childless, probably whilst miscarrying their first-born son. Since becoming Colonel White, the attitudes that he shows towards Captain Scarlet and the Spectrum Angels in the various installments appear to indicate that he views them as the son (in Captain Scarlet's case) and the daughters (in the cases of all five of the Angels) he never had. A master chess player and mystery-novel enthusiast, Gray is believed to be devoting what little time he can spare to writing a mystery novel of his own. His interest in chess apparently helps him tremendously in the Earthman-Mysteron War, in which he seems to view Spectrum as the "white" side since, after all, it was an illegal act committed by a then member of Spectrum which actually touched it off in the first place. Production information Actor Donald Gray provided the character voice of Colonel White (as well as those of Captain Black as an agent of the Mysterons and the Mysterons themselves) in the original programme. A fellow actor also named Donald Grey changed his name to Charles Grey to avoid confusion, causing him to have the same real name as that of Colonel White. Category:Spectrum Personnel Category:Captain Scarlet Characters Category:Characters Category:Colonels Category:Heroes Category:The Mysterons Category:Winged Assassin